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The Ultimate Guide to Solving Skype Sign-in Issues

Recently we ran a poll on the Skype Community to find out what you, our users, would like to see in an upcoming Tips & Tricks post. The response was overwhelming and, by a narrow margin, you chose to hear more about solving issues when it comes to signing in to Skype.

Today we’re answering that request with the ultimate guide to diagnosing those problems. It’s going to be a long one, but you only need to follow the steps as they apply to you.

We’ll be running more of these polls in the future on the Community, so make sure to check back there regularly and make your voice heard.

If you’re having a problem signing into Skype the first thing to check is whether your internet is working. A simple test for this is to open your browser and surf to a few websites like www.skype.com and www.microsoft.com. If websites load quickly, carry on to step 2.

If you can’t load any websites at all, your internet connection is probably not working. Check that your device is properly connected to your network and check with your internet service provider whether there are any service faults in your area.

Step 2: Is Skype experiencing any service issues?

If your internet connection is working well, we might be experiencing some service issues. Check the Heartbeat blog to make sure Skype services are running normally.

If there are no service issues reported on Heartbeat, carry on to step 3.

Step 3: Can you get to a point where you’re asked to enter your Skype credentials?

There are some issues such as the blank blue screen which might stop you from even trying to enter your Skype username and password. If you can get to a point where you can enter your credentials, carry on to step 4.

These can be issues with the way Skype is installed on your device. As a first step, try uninstalling Skype, restarting your device and reinstalling Skype.

If reinstalling Skype doesn’t help, it’s time get the Skype Community involved. These problems can often have many causes so trying to solve them all in a guide like this would be difficult. Luckily the Skype Community has a wealth of information and nearly two million users who are waiting to help.

Step 4: Are your username and password correct?

If you’ve only just registered for Skype, please read this guide before you continue.

The first thing to check is whether to use the Skype Name sign-in option or the Microsoft account sign-in option. If your username is formatted like an email address, e.g. yourname@outlook.com, then you have a Microsoft account. If your username doesn’t contain a @-symbol, you have a Skype Name.

Once you’re sure which sign-in option to use, try signing in to your account on the Skype website. There are a number of issues which might stop Skype software from connecting that won’t affect you signing in on the website. For that reason, this is a good test to make sure your username and password are working.

If you can’t sign in on the Skype website, try resetting your password. The location to reset your password depends on whether you sign in with a Skype Name or a Microsoft account.

If you have reset your password and still can’t sign in on the Skype website, or you haven’t been able to reset your password, please contact us.

Once you have successfully signed in to the Skype website, carry on to step 5.

Step 5: Check what is stopping the software from connecting

If you’re connected to the internet, Skype services are running as expected, the software is installed properly and you’re using the right credentials, then there are only a few things that could still be stopping you from signing in.

None of this is working, i’ve been trying to fix my mum’s skype account, she hasn’t been able to log in for over a month. I can log in in the same computer, but her account, or the account that my mum and dad used together before he passed away don’t connect! it keeps on telling us that it doesn’t recognize our details or something along those lines. We have changed the password several times and tried time and again and cannot log into either of those accounts.
Please help us, don’t just tell me to check on the Skype community, i already have and this is meant to be the “ultimate guide to solving sign in issues”, so please somebody help us fix it. Surely skype stuff are able to go in manually and take a look at what the problem is? The issue happens on different computers, so it’s not the computer, and as i said, other skype accounts log in fine!
Thanks

The reason I recommend trying the Skype Community is because it’s easier to track replies and have a conversation there, but I’ll do what I can to help here.

First of all, is your mom’s Skype account linked to a Microsoft account? It could be that when you go to reset the password that you’re actually resetting the password of the Microsoft Account without realizing. We wrote up a guide on the difference between a Skype and Microsoft account which you might find useful. I realize you’re not new to Skype, but the information there should help you get back up and running.

Hi Team, please help me in fixing the issue in logging in to my skype desktop app via facebook. It is saying “Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again”. I can login to skype website and also using skype username to desktop app but I want to login via facebook to desktop app as my contacts are already there in facebook. I tried all the above suggestions in this blog like removing skype folder, renaming shared.xml file, reinstalling new version of skype. Anything else I can do to get it working? Its happeing from last one week to me.

1. Make sure you have the latest version of Internet Explorer installed (even if it’s not your primary browser, Skype has some dependencies on it)
2. Check for updates of Adobe Flash.
3. Reset your Skype appdata using the steps described in this Community post.

Sorry to hear that didn’t work out. Could I ask you to register on the Skype Community and post your question in the Skype for Windows desktop board? Once you’ve registered someone will be able to take a closer look at your account and see what could be stopping you from signing in to Skype.